For Hope of a Dream
by Mira Silvia
Summary: Pretty much the manga, but the timeline is shifted, placed in an alternate universe, and the pacing changes. oh, and Integra has a daughter. First story tripe, yet here I am posting it. Also, Walter isn't a traitor. Sorry, couldn't do it. Just me messing up the Hellsing timeline. AU, IxOC...kinda. OCs abound. Dhampyr.
1. Prologue

As Reginald tucked Eladora into bed, the little girl seemed to still be wide awake. "Daddy, tell me a story," the five year old said, blue eyes wide. "A different one this time..."

Reginald sighed, "Fair enough, let me see..." He thought for a moment, then hit upon an idea.

"There once was a prince. He was a man of great renown and valor. He-"

Eladora piped up, "What did he look like?"

Reginald paused and said, "Now, I was getting to that...

He was a tall man, many said he was handsome. He had dark hair, and hazel eyes. But he-"

"Is he you, daddy?" Eladora asked suspiciously.

Reginald laughed, "No...no, Ela. Why would you say that?"

"You're tall, have dark hair, and hazel eyes. He looks like you," She said simply.

Reginald laughed, "I suppose he does, doesn't he? But I'm no prince, little one. Anyway-

Though he fought bravely for his land and people, a misfortune befell him. He was cursed, and he lost everything. His land, his people, his friends, his family, even his princess." He paused for effect.

Eladora's eyes were wide, "Did he lose his books too?"

Reginald was caught off guard, but he shouldn't have been. Eladora valued almost nothing more highly than her books. "Um...I don't know...I suppose he would of..." Seeing Eladora's reaction, he went with it. "That he did, little one. Every last one."

Eladora was silent, listening.

"He lived for a long time almost alone. He met some people from time to time, but they always parted ways eventually. Then, one day, he traveled to a land far from his home. It was an island nation, the greatest of its time."

"England!" The little girl said happily.

Reginald nodded, "Yes. England.

He came to England, but he did some bad things."

"What sort of things, daddy?" the girl asked. She was thinking of stealing or lying.

Reginald had no clue how to answer that one for a second. Dammit...maybe he should have stuck to familiar territory. Then, "He...hurt some people. But there was one woman who stood apart from all the others he had met. She was a real beauty, with long dark hair and a strong personality. Unfortunately, she was in love with another man. Yet, she felt something for him too."

Eladora asked in a bored tone, "Does she marry the prince, break the curse and become a princess?"

Reginald wagged a finger at her, "No...

Because he had hurt people, a group of men hunted him, and sought to protect the dark haired woman. They tracked him all the way back to his homeland, where they captured him. They brought him back and imprisoned him."

Eladora looked sad, "But he wouldn't have hurt her...right?"

"You may think so, but the men didn't," Reginald said gently.

"Men always make mistakes," she said darkly(Reginald knew she picked _that_ up from her mother), then said brightly, "What happens next?"

"He was imprisoned for a long time, a very long time. But one day, the door to his cell was opened by a fair young maiden. She was running away from evil men who wanted to hurt her. When the evil men ran after the maiden, the prince rose up and defeated them, saving her."

"Now comes the marriage and happily ever after..." Eladora rolled her eyes.

"Wrong again, Ela," Reginald said.

"He pledged his undying loyalty to her, and served her for years. The perfect servant."

Eladora looked confused, "But..."

Reginald had risen to leave, "What's the matter?"

"What about the curse? Doesn't he at least get rid of that?" She asked.

"No, he was still cursed." said Reginald. "Some tales don't have happy endings," he said almost too quietly to be heard.

Eladora turned over to go to sleep, mumbling, "I think Alucard's stories are better."

Reginald smiled slightly as he shut the door.

The vampire was standing right there, waiting. Red eyes narrowed slightly. Anyone unaccustomed to the sight would have backed away in fear. Reginald simply said, "Yes...?"

"I was going to tell that one to her," Alucard grumbled.

Reginald chuckled, "It's a family story. Fair game for me to tell as well."

"It's _mine_," the nosferatu growled.

Reginald rolled his eyes, "Nice to know that, _gramps._" With that, he walked off down the hall.

The vampire moved to follow, his descendant was being a little too cheeky...time to give him a good scare.

Once they were on the other side of the house from Eladora, of course. Reginald's screams were rather noisy.

AN: This is just the prologue, more to follow. It's the first fanfiction I ever wrote, so fair warning: it's absolute tripe.


	2. Chapter 1: Hide and Seek--Oh Dear

AN: Just a bit more fluff to start out. Yes, this _is_ Hellsing and there shall be violence and drama and all of that. Just not this chapter.

Walter and Reginald were both worried. They had been asked by Integra to find Eladora and get her tucked into bed, whilst Sir Hellsing called Alucard up to her office and thoroughly reprimanded him for writing his last report in Romanian("You know I need to be able to read these! As well as anyone else in the upper levels of this organization!" "I was feeling nostalgic, a thousand pardons for a rather human shortcoming, my Master." "Oh, don't pull that, you-!" ).

Only one problem.

They couldn't find Eladora, and had been looking for an hour.

Walter recalled seeing Leo, Seras, and Eladora playing together earlier in the afternoon as Leo walked past, seemingly looking for something too.

"Leo...Have you seen Eladora?" Walter asked, leaning down slightly toward the seven year old.

Leo kept glancing around, "No. We were playing hide and seek. I think she won..."

Reginald bit his lip, "How long ago did she go and hide?"

Leo shrugged, "Around sunset...I think..."

Reginald and Walter split up, Reginald searching the upper levels of the house once again, and Walter taking the area below-stairs, as well as the basement and sub-basement(not that he thought Eladora would be in the last...).

Reginald sighed as he finished searching the attic. He didn't necessarily _want to_ but he knew one person who, when asked, would be able to find Eladora in a heartbeat. He had heard a couple gunshots moments earlier, which meant that Integra should just be finishing up her lecture on using English...

As Alucard exited Integra's office ("And use the bloody door this time, git!") he was greeted by a worried looking Reginald.

He raised an eyebrow in question.

Reginald motioned him further down the hallway, away from Integra. Then said, "Walter and I have been looking all evening, and we can't find Eladora."

Alucard chuckled. "You could always wait until she gets hungry. A strategy that works on children and enemies alike," He mused.

Reginald frowned, "The whole idea being that Integra never knows that Eladora up and disappeared."

"Ah...yes..." Alucard laughed slightly, "She is in rather a touchy mood at the moment, isn't she?"

"I wonder who's fault that is?" Reginald said grumpily. They locked gazes for a few tense moments, then, he sighed, "Would you please just go and find Ela?"

Alucard smiled. Reginald was one of the few humans who could hold his gaze without backing away in fear. Always a good trait, in his opinion. "Of course," and with that, he dropped through the floor.

He could tell that Eladora was somewhere in the sub-basement. God only knew _why_. She had evidently fallen asleep, so tracing her now muted thoughts was a little difficult...

Following the "trail" as best he could, Alucard soon found himself in front of the door leading to his domain. How a child could have gotten past that door was an interesting conundrum...then again...

He phased through the door, and as he descended the stairs, expected to find Eladora curled up in his chair, or something similar.

Alucard didn't see her anywhere in the gloom of the dungeon. Yet, he could sense that she was there. Somewhere...no...surely she wouldn't...couldn't...well...it is _Eladora_... "Wouldn't" and "Couldn't" were not part of her vocabulary...

Opening the coffin lid slowly, he found the little girl curled around the single red pillow, snuggled into the crimson silken lining. Sound asleep.

Asleep no longer. Eladora opened one of her blue eyes and asked lethargically, "Am I in trouble?"

He scooped her up, "No, little one."

Still clutching the pillow, "Okay then..." and fell back asleep in his arms a he began to make his way back upstairs. He couldn't help but smile slightly when Eladora curled up in the crook of his arm.

When he arrived in the library, he made it clear to Reginald and Walter that Eladora was asleep, and quiet was in order.


	3. Debates, Family, Stories, and Geneology

Ten year-old Eladora watched from the gallery as her father debated with another MP. She could tell that her father was winning. The other man was beginning to falter, and stutter. _How did he ever get elected?_ She wondered. No one back at home sounded like that in an argument. It was weak. She frowned.

Her grandmother looked down kindly at her, "What's the matter, Vladimira?" She always used the child's middle name. Eladora rather liked it.

"Who's that man Papa's arguing with?" She asked, pointing.

Her grandmother squinted slightly, "Oh, he's one of those Labour MPs...Winslow, Wilson, or some other." She said vaguely.

Eladora watched a little longer, as Reginald delivered a crushing defeat to the Labour MP, causing the room to laugh as Winslow, or Wilson, sat back down. She watched as more debates went on. And her dark brows furrowed slightly.

"Why can't any of them argue right?" She said quietly. "They are all showing weaknesses that can be taken advantage of."

Svetlana Ashworth cast a wary glance toward her granddaughter, with no clue what to say to that.

Later, they met Reginald for lunch. When he came into view, Eladora ran toward him for a hug,"Papa!"

Svetlana claimed a table and sat down, waiting.

Reginald knelt down to pull Ela into a hug, "How's my girl? What do you think of the House of Commons?"

She thought for a moment, then said, "You're the only one who can argue right, like momma taught me." She looked like she wanted to add more, but wasn't sure if she should.

Reginald noticed it and said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, little one. What else do you want to say? It's okay." He smiled.

Eladora bit her lip and said, "They all are weak."

Reginald laughed nervously, "Why would you say that?"

"They all show their feelings," she said simply.

"They're human, Ela," Reginald said. "They're supposed to."

"Momma and Alucard say you should never show your emotions to your enemies," the little girl said. Then added, "You didn't. Momma says that it's easy to take someone's emotions and use them against them."

Reginald sighed, "How about we go have lunch? Besides, you haven't seen Urquhart speak yet."

"The Prime Minister?" Eladora asked.

"Yes..." Reginald said, then muttered, "The Prime Monster."

Eladora giggled.

_Damn,_ Reginald thought, _I keep forgetting that she has ears like a bat._ "No repeating that, little one." He said sternly.

"Yes Papa," Eladora smiled, not really reassuring Reginald.

As they ate, conversation went this way and that. Politics, weather, social gossip(the last was mostly Svetlana's department) were all discussed. Eventually, they got around to Svetlana's hobby, as they always did. Her latest revelation about the family tree being that somewhere far back on her mother's side they were slightly related to the czars of Russia.

"Amazing, isn't it Reggie?" She said, "Being related to two lines of royalty?"

Reginald nodded, not wishing to discuss the _other_ line, not here anyway.

Eladora looked at her grandmother quizzically, "What's the other one, grandmother?"

Svetlana looked at Reginald, "You never told her?"

"Must have slipped my mind..."he muttered.

"Honestly, Reginald, the things that 'slip your mind', what do you bother to remember?" Svetlana looked witheringly at her son. She then looked kindly at her granddaughter, she didn't really mind getting to relay this little bit of trivia again, "Well, dear, a number of generations back on my side of the family, we are related to the Draculesti, one of the lines that ruled in Romania, through Vlad III 'Dracula', actually."

Eladora's eyes sparked at the name. Reginald groaned inwardly, _Here we go..._

_"_Dracula? Like the vampire?_" _the little girl asked.

Svetlana laughed, "No, Vladimira, Vlad III was a prince who ruled in Romania centuries ago."

"But momma says-" Eladora was going to continue.

"Those are bedtime stories, little one," said Reginald quickly.

Eladora looked at him with an expression that clearly said, 'Who do you think you're kidding?'

Svetlana cocked an eyebrow at Reginald, saying, "I wouldn't mind hearing some of those stories, Reggie."

Reginald laughed nervously, then checked his watch, "Oh, well...ah, look at the time! I promised Eladora we would go to the museum today...and didn't you say you were meeting Lady Marlborough?"

Svetlana sighed, ever since he had married Hellsing... "Of course dear...I'll see you tomorrow?"

Reginald nodded, "That would be lovely, say ten?"

With a nod, Svetlana left.

Once they returned to Reginald's city residence, he sat Eladora down in the study. He needed to explain this now.

"Ela...vampires are a secret. You can't tell anyone about them," he said sternly.

Eladora frowned slightly, "Not even grandmother?"

_Especially not grandmother..._"Not even grandmother. No one outside of the house can know."

"Is that why Alucard doesn't act like the vampires mommy talks about?" she asked.

"Sort of..." Reginald said.

Eladora was on to her next question though, "Is grandmother right? Are we related to a vampire?"

Reginald bit his lip, "Yes...she doesn't know though, about the vampire part."

Eladora nodded, "I understand." She knew a _secret._ Inwardly, she smiled.

A week later, she was in the library in the evening, balanced on a chair, reaching for a book just out of her reach.

"Do you want some help, little one?" Alucard had entered the room at some point.

Eladora shook her head, "I-" she jumped a bit to grab the volume she was after, landing perfectly back on the edge of the chair, book in hand, "-got it." She climbed down, "But, thank you." She sat in a chair by the hearth, legs dangling over the edge.

Alucard sat in the chair opposite, and noticed what book she had grabbed, "Make sure to read the notes in the margins." He smiled, seeing as he was the one who had written those notes...

Eladora nodded, already engrossed in reading. Just as she turned to the next page, Walter appeared in the doorway, saw what book the young heir had, and quickly walked over and snatched it up. He looked disapprovingly at Alucard, "Do you really think that this is proper reading material for a _ten-year-old?_"

Eladora responded before Alucard could utter a word, "I just wanted to know more about him! After all, we're related." She crossed her arms.

Walter's eyes widened in shock, even the nosferatu looked at the child in silence for a moment, then, "And who told you this bit of information?"

"Grandmother said that her side of the family-" butler and vampire alike looked relieved, "-was descended from Vlad III of Wallachia."

Alucard looked at Walter, "Just give her the book, you know that I'll tell her everything if you don't."

Walter frowned, weighing his options. He was unfortunately aware of the vampire's..._unique_ storytelling style. Yet he knew for a fact that Sir Integra did not want Eladora knowing certain gory details of history for a few more years...

"Just...don't be _too_ graphic..."the butler took the book with him. As he closed the doors he heard the vampire correcting Eladora's pronunciation, and sincerely hoped that the rest of the information would remain equally harmless...

**AN: virtual cookies to anyone who gets what book series/mini-series I referenced!**


End file.
